baby development

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Eggrolls

In our house, Chinese takeout is a staple. It is as common as milk, bread, and cereal. The best part of this is that all three of us love it - and Cookie perhaps loves it the most. When the brown paper sack comes into the house, Cookie wants to be the one to tear it open where they have stapled it shut. She then takes the various bags and boxes and sauces and places each one on the coffee table (where, of course, all good Chinese food is meant to be eaten - while watching Jeopardy).

About a month ago, we were finished eating and Cookie was still gnawing on half an eggroll and running around the livingroom with it. I announced it was bathtime, and she eagerly went over to climb the stairs (eggroll still in hand). Since this was not unusual, I allowed her to carry her precious eggroll into the bathroom.

I turned on the water in the tub, and she began ceremoniously throwing her tub toys into the water one by one. So, there she was finally - naked and gnawing on an eggroll waiting for the tub to fill up. I turned my back for a few seconds to grab a towel and washcloth from underneath the sink when all of a sudden Cookie let out a blood-curdling scream. As I spun around I found she was standing right where she had been, but was peering hoplessly into the tub and crying. Why, you might ask?

Well, there, floating in the middle of the tub with her toys amidst the bubbles was...

her eggroll.

Apparently in her haste to throw her toys into the tub, she also threw in the eggroll amidst the joy.

The soggy yellow lump floated in the bubbles and fragments of cabbage and pork bits bobbed about as a fine oil slick covered the water.

I fished out the soggy eggroll and threw it in the trashcan next to the toilet as Cookie walked over to it and appropriately mourned the loss of her eggroll. I had to tell her it was garbage now because she had thrown it into the tub. She was sad, but in some way satisfied that it did not die a horrible death drowing in the tub.

And, yes, she bathed that night in eggroll-tainted water which I tried to mask with more bubble bath. Far be it from me to waste a tub full of warm water.